Orthodox Jewish Woman Makes Headlines with Facebook Divorce Plea

It’s not so much the 4,800+ likes that 24-year-old Brooklyn resident Rivky Stein (pictured) has accumulated for her Facebook page (Redeem Rivky: Demand that Yoel Weiss Give his Wife a Get) that are notable. It’s the media daisy chain that is taking form and sure to grow over the next few days.

It starts with a story by New York Daily News Brooklyn reporter Reuven Blau. Stein told Blau that she decided to go public with her Orthodox Jewish divorce battle after two years of failed, private efforts:

“I’m trying to open eyes in my community,” she said. “I’ve been getting so much feedback from people thanking me. I’m really here to empower women.”

On the flip side, [husband Yoel] Weiss says he’s received death threats. “This is nothing to do with a get,” he insists. “Her cockamamie story doesn’t logically make sense.”

The News piece has been picked up by Haaretz (with proper atttribution) and by TheJC.com (without). For good measure, we’ll throw in the first media reference to a certain 1998 Renée Zellweger movie. The Facebook page tactic is an option Sonia Horowitz might well have employed, if available.